Leading educationists in the country have appealed to government to allocate more funds to the higher institutions of learning and increase staff remuneration as way uplifting education in the country.

They also asked government to consider investing in further training of lecturers to develop the human resource in those institutions.

Prof. John Opuda Asibo, the executive director of the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) told a forum of vice chancellors of public and private Universities that it was incumbent upon government to have a guided policy to develop human resource not only in the education sector but in all sectors.

This was during the 39th Vice Chancellors Forum held at St. Lawrence University campus in Mengo recently. The forum with a membership of 35 Universities, chaired by Kampala University boss, Prof. Badru Kateregga attracted deans of students, academic registrars and sports leaders from various institutions.

"Human capital development should be our strategy together, government should also help Universities in training of their human resources," Asibo said, adding that having good structures is useless without human resource development.

He said a University with poor structures but produces the best academic results would be better than that with excellent structures yet has no proper human resource.

He also emphasized Universities to invest in training of young people to take over the mantle from the aging teaching professors to avoid creating a vacuum when they leave.

Prof. Lawrence Mukiibi of St. Lawrence University, appealed to his colleagues to always champion unity and cooperation amongst universities to have a positive impact on government policies regarding universities.

He supported the policy of re-examining university entrants and reintroducing tutorials saying examination malpractices had produced incompetent students who graduate with little competence to create impact in the job market.

Participants asked the forum and Universities in general to emphasize research and give it the enthusiasm they give to sports and games because it was the heart of University education.

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